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Let it never be said, when state senators rise to the heights of co-chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, that they bear grudges. So, when state Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, last week hesitantly risked bucking both co-chairmen of that committee by suggesting an amendment to their state song legislation, he joked about not wanting to lose his place among the half dozen senators assigned to negotiate a budget with a similar group of heavy-hitters from the House of Delegates. Finance committee co-chairmen Charles Colgan, D-Prince William, and Walter Stosch, R-Henrico, had proposed that Virginia have two state songs – their own choice of “Sweet Virginia...

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Let it never be said, when state senators rise to the heights of co-chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, that they bear grudges.
So, when state Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, last week hesitantly risked bucking both co-chairmen of that...

Virginia could keep the suppliers of the drugs used in executions secret, as well as all the components they mix to make the drug cocktail used in lethal injections under a bill the state Senate approved Tuesday.
But the measure the Senate passed dropped...

RICHMOND – The city of Suffolk is looking for four years relief from the state's carbon monoxide rules so it can continue using diesel-powered incinerators to dispose of dead animals.
The city's four incinerators are key, given the city's large size...

State Sen. Walter Stosch, one of a few Republicans who backed a quasi-privatized version of Medicaid expansion last year, said Tuesday that he won't seek re-election.
The 78-year-old has been in the General Assembly some 32 years, including a 9-year...

The money that special interests pay to help legislators win elections sometimes flows directly to legislators' pockets, campaign reports show.
Sometimes, those reports show the money goes to the legislator's business, to rent office space. Often, it's...

When the General Assembly gathers this week, it won't run the way legislatures usually do.
There won't be a provision for committees to hold hearings and exercise their usual power to kill or recommend consideration of new policies or spending.
But...

RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is considering expanding health coverage for the poor without the approval of the state legislature, a move that would muscle his top priority past Republican opponents but also throw his young administration...

Whither now for Medicaid expansion and state Sen. Emmett Hanger's stab at compromise?
That is the question. For now, it seems, we marinate. We see if this is the potential breakthrough it sounded like for about 15 minutes there, before Senate...

With their narrow majority back in hand, Senate Republicans re-worked the chamber's committees tonight, removing Democrats from chairmanships and putting Republicans in their places.
They made state Sen. Walter Stosch the body's president pro tem....

Senate Democratic Leader Richard Saslaw has signaled repeatedly - and sometimes just outright said - that he doesn't see any movement coming on the state's budget impasse until after the new fiscal year starts July 1.
And with the news this morning...

RICHMOND - A potential budget deal emerged Monday after the surprise resignation of a Democratic state senator.
The plan, as described by Senate Republicans involved in the negotiations, is for the Senate Finance Committee to meet Thursday morning. It...

RICHMOND — The battle over Medicaid expansion bogged down the budget process once against Thursday as Republicans worked to ensure — as best they can — that Gov. Terry McAuliffe can’t expand the program on his own once the legislature leaves town.
Back...

When Gov. Terry McAuliffe announces how he intends to use his executive powers to expand health care coverage for Virginia's poor, it looks as if he's more likely to step cautiously than confrontationally.
With an overwhelming majority in the House of...

RICHMOND – The General Assembly commission tasked with monitoring the progress of Medicaid reform with an eye to expanding the program in Virginia held its first meeting in Richmond Monday.
The Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission, made up of five...